Things To Do One Day Before Board Exam

“Just like an athlete can choke before the game day, it is normal for a student to freak out a day before board exam.”

Few things in our lives fright us to the core, one of those are the board exams. For most of us, it is for the first time that we are about to face so called – Public Examinations. The thought of attempting an exam set by a completely unknown person and at a totally different school is a little unsettling.

Trust us, you are going to have a number of horror dreams until the result is out. Why wouldn’t it be? Afterall it is going to be critically evaluated at every crucial stage for the rest of your life. No matter how well or bad you have kept on studying till now but today, is the showtime. Buckle up from the moment you wake up and do not waste a single minute. “DO NOT WASTE A SINGLE MINUTE!”

Gather all the material you have been referring to till now. Do not make the mistake of beginning a revision session without the proper supplies. Educolada is going to briefly guide you about the things to do one day before board exams.

Get down to it in the morning: You have to make a start at some point and doing it sooner rather than later is a very good idea. Try to stick to a draft revision schedule and start revising in the morning – research shows that you are more likely to do all the planned work if you start early, because as it gets closer to the evening, there is bigger tendency to get anxious.

Before you begin – Keep calm and find a quiet spot: if you’re serious about getting the work done, look for a quiet study spot away from any distractions. If you need to, turn your phone off, or at least set it to silent so you do not get distracted by the surroundings. Having the peace and silence is the key to concentrate on studying effectively when you only have one day. This is a pretty straightforward one to desperately find a place where you can not be interrupted for a few hours.

Revise important topics: Create a one-page summary with the most important ideas, equations, or methods for the exam. The process of creating this summary will prompt you to identify the most important information that you need to know for the exam, which will help you to study more efficiently. Remember the list of terms you made at the beginning of the study session? Now is the time to review it and make sure you understand everything on the list. Take 30 minutes or so to refresh your memory on the trickier terms, then quiz yourself again. Give it a go!

Create an artificial exam environment: Randomly pick out a sample paper and sit down to solve it with a timer set to 3 hours. A lot of examiners do not bother with inventing terribly innovative questions therefore, the pseudo environment will help you evaluate yourself in all the terms. Once you have done three or four past papers chances are that some of questions that come on that day will look familiar.

Do not panic: It is okay to be struck at the last preparation day. It’s great to succeed and reach for the stars, but keep things in balance. If you think that “anything less than a 100% means I’ve failed” then you are creating unnecessary mountains of stress for yourself. Aim to do your best but do recognise that none of us can be perfect all the time.

Overcome Problems: If you find you do not understand some of your course material, taking stressed won’t help. Instead, take action to address the problem directly by seeing or talking to your tutor or getting help from your classmates.

Stay hydrated: The key to exam success could be as simple as a glass of water. Statistics says students who took water into the exam hall did 10 per cent better than those who did not and this became the reason for difference between the grades. Drinking water may also calm nerves, while those who become thirsty during test time could be more easily distracted. Make sure you drink enough water before and during your exam. Dehydration can make you lose your concentration or sap your energy.

Eat right food: Did you know what you eat can affect your exam performance? Even if you normally skip breakfast or avoid eating when you are nervous, you should still make the time to eat something. You need to keep your mental focus on your exam and not on your hunger. Stay away from the food that requires added time and energy to digest.

Sleep early: It’s natural to feel some exam nerves prior to exam but getting excessively nervous is counterproductive as you will not be able to think as clearly. You can’t afford to stay awake all night studying for an exam because you just won’t be effective on the day of the exam. Make sure you get on average 8 hours of sleep a night before the exam.

Be Positive: At the end of the day, it’s not all about studying. There are many of students who did well in life without 100 per cent in every single exam, or who were actually pretty average at school and university. Your life isn’t over if you don’t ace the exams, so take the pressure off yourself. Actively challenge your irrational thoughts.